Jason Williams and captain Rick Nash also tallied for the Blue
Jackets, who halted a three-game losing streak.

"I think we showed great character tonight," Backman said. "We
worked hard, and it was really important to bounce back after a
couple of losses."

Making his first NHL start, Dan LaCosta turned aside 28 shots
for Columbus, which nearly squandered a two-goal lead.

"It's definitely the highlight of my season, and probably the
highlight of my career," LaCosta said. "Just the way things
happened tonight, the drama at the end. I couldn't have asked
for a better outcome."

"LaCosta was solid and very focused," Blue Jackets coach Ken
Hitchcock said. "That's what we needed. We needed a solid
performance. He's a big guy and he's got good mobility. When
he's aggressive and focused like he is right now, that's a real
good sign for us."

Blue-liner Christian Ehrhoff recorded a goal and an assist and
Devin Setoguchi also scored for the Sharks, who have dropped
three in a row (0-2-1) for the first time this season.

"Yes, we have lost three in a row," San Jose coach Todd McLellan
said. "This is new territory for us, but I'm proud of the way
the guys have played and battled back in some games, so I think
we'll be all right."

With fellow defensemen Marc Methot (flu) and Mike Commodore
(food poisoning) out of the lineup, Backman received the chance
to play in his second straight game after being a healthy
scratch for the previous four and six of eight.

"It's never fun to sit out games. You want to be in there and
you want to contribute," Backman said. "These last two games, I
have had a little more ice time and felt pretty good."

The 28-year-old Swede did not disappoint coach Ken Hitchcock,
burying a loose puck in the crease after goaltender Evgeni
Nabokov made the initial save on R.J. Umberger's shot from the
slot.

"We got the 2-on-1 with me and R.J. I just gave him the puck
and went to the net," Backman said. "He took a great shot, and
all of a sudden, the puck was laying right behind the goalie. I
was thinking, 'I can't miss that.' It was a great feeling."

"I was so happy for Backman," Hitchcock said. "He's played two
real good games here. To play the way he did and then get the
winning goal, I was real happy for him."

Backman's winning goal came just after LaCosta made a big save
on Setoguchi at the other end of the rink. The 22-year-old
netminder, who was a third-round pick in 2004, had made just two
previous appearances in the NHL - both in relief.

"He looked really good out there, and we had a lot of confidence
in him," Nash said. "He was great. Against San Jose, his first
game, it can't be any better."

LaCosta could receive more opportunities, as the Blue Jackets
placed fellow rookie netminder Steve Mason on injured reserve
after the game due to a bout with mononucleosis.

"If I got sent down (to the minors) tomorrow, I would know that
I left it all out there and did everything I could to stay,"
LaCosta said. "That was my goal. I understand the situation
that's going on here now. If I stay, that's great, I'll do the
best I can. Whatever happens, happens."

Entering with two straight losses at home, Columbus took an
early lead in this one as Williams beat Nabokov high to the
glove side with a wrist shot from low in the right faceoff
circle at 1:46 of the first period.

Nash doubled the advantage at 9:33, receiving a pass at the blue
line from Kristian Huselius and sliding the puck under Nabokov
during a breakaway for his 23rd goal of the season.

"A great pass from Kristian there, and all I had to do was
finish it," Nash said. "I was able to get it past (Nabokov)
before he went down."

The All-Star's goal gave Columbus two tallies on as many shots
in the game.

"You could not ask for a better start," Nash said. "It's just
too bad we couldn't hold on to the lead at the end."

Huselius' assist on the play was the 200th of his career.

Setoguchi began San Jose's comeback early in the second, firing
a wrister from the high slot into the top left corner of the net
just 54 seconds into the session.

"It was just a wrister from between the dots that I think caught
their goalie by surprise a little bit," Setoguchi said. "It was
a great play by Christian and Joe (Thornton) to set it up."

With 3:58 remaining in the third, Ehrhoff unleashed a rising
slap shot from the left point that got past LaCosta, knotting
the game at 2-2 and keeping alive the Sharks' hopes of extending
their road winning streak to four.

"We had a good faceoff and won the puck there," Ehrhoff said.
"We got the puck high in the middle and Nash went there, and I
got the puck. Cheech (Jonathan Cheechoo) did a good job
(setting a screen) and I don't think the goalie saw it, and it
got by him."

"It's part of being a goaltender," LaCosta said of being
victimized for a late goal. "You have to put those goals behind
you and keep playing. Honestly, I didn't see the second one go
in, so I just forgot about it and moved on."

Nabokov made 17 saves for San Jose, which fell to 4-6-1 when
trailing after two periods despite forcing overtime.

"Give our guys credit. I thought we fought back and I thought
we controlled most of the game," McLellan said. "We had them on
their heels. ... To fight back the way we did against a really
good team, we're happy to do that. But we'd like to, obviously,
come away with a win."